


Ruffled Feathers

by Blacier



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, Heh... literally, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 22:12:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10448673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blacier/pseuds/Blacier
Summary: Revali doesn't like Link. At all. Period. And yet, every small touch, every little compliment, and almost everything Link does makes Revali find him more and more endearing.And by the end of the day, no matter how much he tries to hide it, Revali always ends up with ruffled feathers.





	

“Will you stay still and stop struggling for once?” The exasperation in Revali’s voice was evident. This was the third time in the past hour that a strand of Link’s hair managed to slip out of his feathers because Link would _not_ stop  _ moving. _

 

Of course, that was one of the things that Revali loved about him. He was always so full of life, so full of energy. Link was one of those kinds of people that you just couldn’t help but feel happy around, and Revali was definitely not an exception. 

 

That’s the reason why they were currently high above Rito Village, sitting on a rock face that overlooked the settlement below while Revali twisted and pulled Link’s hair into a traditional Rito braid. The golden strands of his hair flowed like silk through Revali’s feathers as he meticulously worked to complete the final braid. Trying to make the final result look perfect was quite time-consuming, but it gave him more time to spend around Link, so he didn’t mind in the slightest. 

 

The Hylian shifted once more, this time moving backward into the downy softness of Revali’s chest. Revali stiffened slightly as Link leaned farther into him, and he was suddenly thankful for his feathers. They were the only reason that Link couldn’t see the blush that was rapidly spreading across his face. 

 

“I’m sorry I keep fidgeting,” Link said as he relaxed against Revali. “I’m just not used to staying still this long, you know?” 

 

Revali nodded in understanding. “I think I get it. There’s no rest for the princess’s appointed knight, huh?” he asked. He mentally slapped himself as he realized he’d been idly playing with a bit of Link’s hair as they spoke. 

 

“You’ve got that right,” Link sighed. “It’s nice to take a break for a while and just relax for a moment.” He looked up at Revali with a dazzling smile that nearly took his breath away. “And it’s even better when you have someone to braid your hair for you, eh?” he asked as he nudged Revali with his elbow. 

 

“Speaking of which, why are we doing this all the way up here?” Link asked. “Not that I’m complaining, but I was just wondering why you decided to do this here instead of in the village.”

 

Revali gulped. The truth of the matter was this: the Rito considered the act of braiding each other’s hair (or feathers, as it were) an intimate and personal moment. As a Hylian, Link wouldn’t truly grasp the magnitude of what Revali was doing, but a member of the village would understand immediately. It almost made Revali shudder to think of what would happen if someone from the village were to catch them like this. They would be talking about it for  _ weeks.  _ No,  _ months _ , even. He just couldn’t take that risk. 

 

“O-oh, yeah.” Revali cringed inwardly at the slight stutter in his voice. “I, uh, didn’t want to be distracted by the noise in the village. Yeah, that’s why.”  _ Nice. Very smooth, Revali. He won’t suspect anything. _

 

Link paused to consider Revali’s words for a moment, long enough for Revali to question the probability of Link actually believing what he said. Finally, Link smiled and said, “Oh, okay. It _is_ pretty quiet up here, now that you mention it,” he remarks. 

 

_ Yep. It’s just you and me, up here, where no one would know if I just wrapped my wings around and gave you a- nevermind.  _ Revali shook his head to clear his mind of the less-than-platonic thoughts about the one who was still currently leaned against his chest. 

 

“You know,” Link began, “I’m a bit surprised you wanted to do this for me.” He let out a sheepish laugh while rubbing the back of his head. “I actually thought you… kinda hated me at first, you know?”

 

_ I thought I hated you too, and look at where that has led me.  _ Revali sighed inwardly.  _ Really, though,  _ he thought to himself,  _ it’s hard to hate you when you act like such a dork all the time. It’s quite endearing.  _

 

“But you know what?” Link continued. “I think I had the wrong idea about you. You can actually be… really sweet. Sometimes, that is.”

 

Revali laughed. “I think I’ll try to take that as a compliment.”

 

Not too long after, Revali put the finishing touch on Link’s Rito-style braids, even going so far as to bind them with the same type of cords that he used to keep his own braids in place. That would help keep Link’s hair in place, no matter what sort of fight or scuffle he got into. 

 

“So,” Link asked as he toyed with one of the locks of hair that was now hanging beside his head, “how do I look?”

 

“You look wonderful! I mean- Yeah, you look alright,” he added dismissively.  _ Very smooth, Revali. Very, very smooth. _ “What I’m trying to say is, they look nice on you.”

 

Link tried to hide his amusement at Revali’s little slip-up, but ultimately couldn’t hold it in, a few peals of laughter escaping around the hand he held over his mouth. “Thanks, Revali. I appreciate it, really, I do,” he managed to say through the giggling. 

 

“You know,” Link said once he finally managed to get his mirth under control, “I think I really liked this sort of “Rito date” thing. One of these days, you’ll have to let me show you how we do it where I’m from, alright?” he said with a quick wink in Revali’s direction.

 

Revali paused, thinking about what Link had just said. “Huh. I guess I’ve never thought of our braiding as a sort of date- Wait!” He froze, mortified. “W-who told you about that?”

 

The smug smile on Link’s face was almost unbearable. “The village elder told me about it when I asked him earlier this morning,” he replied. “So, I’m guessing that means you like me?”

 

“I… you… Oh, goodness.” Revali buried his face in his wings, desperately wishing that this entire fiasco was a dream and that Link didn’t just reveal that he knew all about his intentions.  _ Could this possibly get any worse _ ? he groaned internally.

 

Needless to say, it came as quite a shock when he felt something warm press against the side of his beak. When he snapped open his eyes, he saw Link drawing away, running towards the edge of the rock face that they were on. He jumped off once he reached the edge, pulling out his paraglider to allow him to drift slowly to the ground. 

 

When he finally recovered, Revali ran to the edge of the rock face, looking down at Link’s slowly descending figure. Once he touched down, Link looked up to see Revali staring down at him. He waved at him as he walked off, and a moment later he rounded a corner, and Revali couldn’t see him anymore. 

 

Revali slowly brought a wing up to caress the place where Link had kissed him. He could still feel the tingling sensation that the close contact had brought. Slowly, but surely, his feathers started to fluff up, and the same conundrum that always happened when he was near Link reared its head again. 

 

He sighed. Revali wasn’t surprised. Not in slightest. He had come to terms with the fact that whenever he was with Link, he was always left with a joyful heart, and ruffled feathers.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
